Elizabeth Scherer

Elizabeth Anne Scherer is an American lawyer who served as a judge in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida from 2012 until her resignation in 2023.

Elizabeth Anne Scherer
Judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
In office
December 14, 2012[1] – June 30, 2023
Appointed byRick Scott
Preceded byDavid Krathen
Personal details
EducationFlorida State University (B.A.), University of Miami School of Law (J.D.)

Scherer gained national attention in 2022 after being randomly assigned to preside over the trial of Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the 2018 Parkland high School shooting in Parkland, Florida, the deadliest high school shooting in United States history as of 2022.[2][3]

Life and career

Scherer graduated from Florida State University with a B.A. in English and received a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law.[4] She is the daughter of William R. Scherer, a private attorney who was part of the legal team representing George W. Bush during the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida.[2] Before being appointed as a judge by Governor Rick Scott in 2012, Scherer worked as a prosecutor under state attorney Michael Satz, who would later lead prosecution in the Cruz trial.[2]

Parkland shooter trial

Judge Scherer had been relatively unknown outside of Broward County until being assigned to preside over the high-profile case of the Parkland shooter, Nikolas Cruz.[3] Her conduct in the case drew both praise and criticism. Scherer permitted the jury to conduct a walk-through of the school building while also limiting the amount of information public defenders were allowed to disclose to jurors regarding the failures of the federal government agencies in handling Cruz prior to the shooting.[2] During the trial, Scherer engaged in heated exchanges with the defense attorneys, accusing them of turning the trial into a "playground" and disrespecting the court.[5] Video footage of the trial was widely shared on social media.[6]

Scherer refused to step down after the defense had argued that the judge was biased against their client and was prejudicing the jurors.[7] Following the trial, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sent an official complaint to the Chief Judge of Broward County describing her attitude toward the defense as "hostile and demeaning treatment of defense counsel."[8][9] Scherer, who was further criticized for sharing hugs with the prosecutors following the case, received support from the victims' families, who, in an open letter posted on Twitter said that the judge "conducted herself with patience, professionalism, restraint &, when it was all over, compassion."[8]

On April 13 2023, The Florida Supreme Court unanimously agreed to grant death row inmate Randy Tundidor's request to disqualify Scherer from his case because of her actions after Cruz's sentencing and during Tundidor's postconviction proceedings.[10][11]

On May 11, 2023, Scherer resigned from her position, to take effect on June 30, 2023.

On June 2, 2023, the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission found that Scherer violated many rules governing judicial conduct during Cruz's trial. Scherer "unduly chastised" public defender Melisa McNeill and her team, wrongly accused one Cruz attorney of threatening her child, and improperly embraced members of the prosecution team after the trial's conclusion. The Commission recommended a public reprimand for Scherer.[12] The public reprimand was issued the next month.[13]

References
  1. "Rick Scott Names Maltz, Scherer Circuit Court Judges". December 15, 2012.
  2. Mazzei, Patricia (July 18, 2022). "The Parkland judge is handling her first death penalty case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  3. Milian, Jorge (April 18, 2022). "Judge overseeing Nikolas Cruz death penalty trial sheds anonymity for national spotlight". The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  4. Ruiz, Michael (April 7, 2022). "Who is Judge Elizabeth Scherer?". Fox News. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  5. Singh, Namita (September 2, 2022). "Nikolas Cruz sentencing judge slams lawyers for turning court into 'playground'". The Independent. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  6. Kinsey, Joe (April 18, 2022). "Viral Sensation Florida Judge Elizabeth Scherer Is Back & She Has An Instagram Page". OutKick. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  7. Spencer, Terry (September 19, 2022). "Judge in Florida school shooter case refuses to step down". Associated Press. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  8. Kika, Thomas (November 13, 2022). "Parkland families defend judge after hug: "Fair to all parties"". Newsweek. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  9. Burke, Peter (November 4, 2022). "President of Florida defense lawyers critical of Judge Elizabeth Scherer in letter to Chief Judge Jack Tuter". WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  10. "Judge in Nikolas Cruz case, Elizabeth Scherer disqualified in murder case - CBS Miami". www.cbsnews.com. April 13, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  11. https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/content/download/865965/opinion/sc2022-1732.pdf
  12. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23835273/judge-elizabeth-scherer-report-recommendation.pdf
  13. "Florida Supreme Court reprimands judge for conduct during Parkland school shooting trial". Associated Press. July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
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